Tag Archives: unemployment

So the Republicans won last week and we know that candidate Lisa Murkowski from Alaska may have lost, largely because her name was misspelled by the voter and could not have been counted. Sow what does a Republican win mean for immigration? If Republicans are pro-business, that means that business may start humming again largely due to the fact that the uncertain legislative climate is behind us. The 4,000+ changes brought about by health care reform and wall street reform had businesses reeling, trying to play catchup with compliance.

A Republican win also means that enforcement at the border and against businesses will remain at the same high level of execution. So there may be a better business climate leading to more hiring and causing businesses to bring over more foreign workers, provided they did not take TARP funds (bailout funds) from the federal government or have repaid the funds. Right now, businesses are not hiring foreign nationals because they are busy laying off workers. Enforcement business has been steady in immigration, whether it is deportation of out of status foreign citizens or punishing businesses employing foreign citizens without work visas.

I also practice estate planning. For CPAs and lawyers and the IRS, working in this area means the uncertainty of 2010 carry over basis may be over! Finally we will go back to having $3.5 million of exemption from federal estate taxes, so my Missouri estate planning clients will now have more advice from me, other than “please don’t die in 2010!” Congress still has to enact new law to give effect to my dreams, but I can dream now! As a small business owner, I heave a sigh of relief! Now I think I will stop working for Uncle Sam until June. When you are a small business owner, you wear many hats: lawyer, parent, tech geek, accountant and even counselor. I had to hire a service to process payroll because it was consuming too much time and I was never sure I had the numbers correct. If you pay too little, the fines and penalties can really add up from the State and Federal tax man.

So I freed up some time to actually practice law. We need less government and more private enterprise. More money in my pocket as a small business, and I may actually be able to hire another person in the office. What a revolutionary thought! When you think about unemployment, there is a structural unemployment of 5.5%; total unemployment 11%. Structural unemployment means joblessness caused not by lack of demand, but by changes in demand patterns or obsolescence of technology; and requiring retraining of workers and large investment in new capital equipment. So there were already 51.5% of the population of the US not working when the recession started in 2007. Now there are 5-6% more. Look at it another way: 89-90% of persons employable are working. Maybe when you wake up and see the unemployment number you will feel better about your situation. I see people who have lost their jobs. These people are on a work visa or are awaiting a grant of permanent residency. For these people, it is a precarious living, made worse by the fact that their very existence in this great country is jeopardized by being jobless. Perhaps an enlightened immigration policy that favors business will be enacted by the new Republican party in power. I can dream can’t I?